Five Tamils killed in Delft house murder case

On April 22nd, a tragic incident occurred in Delft, Sri Lanka. Two men and three women were murdered in a house near the jetty and in the vicinity of the Naval base. One woman is in critical condition and has been admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital for treatment. The victims included the owner of the house, one other person who lives in Jaffna, and three people who were visiting from abroad. The person visiting from London was Velayudampillai Nagenthira Ratnam, age 78. The other victims were Naganathi Balasingham, age 82, Balasingham Kanmanipillai, age 76, Karthikesu Nageswari, age 83, and Mahadevan, age 75. 

The deceased have been revealed as belonging to the same family and were elderly. Three of the dead had returned to the country on holiday. The injured woman was also visiting.

Initial investigations by the police have revealed that a gang of four people may have committed the murder. Since the Naval base is not too far from the house, they may have entered the house from the back. Murder weapons probably would have been axes and swords. The police have not determined if anything from the house has been stolen.

The lady who lived in the house had been supporting herself after her husband had been murdered as part of the Kumudini Boat Massacre in 1986. She had provided a place to stay and food for the people who visited Delft as her living. The people that were murdered in her house, were visiting Delft and had come to the island for the Kumbhabhishekam at the temple in Delft and had stayed at the old lady's house near the jetty.

On Saturday, April 22nd, when no one came from the house, the neighbours became suspicious and went into the old lady's house, and that is when they found the bodies. One person's body was right outside the house, and the others were inside in various places. There was severe trauma on the bodies that were visible. Kanagam Puranam, age 98, was seriously injured and was in critical condition when she was rushed to the Jaffna teaching hospital.

The police in Delft are investigating the murder, and for further investigation, a team from the Kayts police station has been deployed. The Delft-Kirkadduwan jetty service has been suspended to prevent the murderers from escaping the island.

Following investigations by the Magistrate Court Judge of Kayts, the forensics team, and the Judicial Medical Officer, the bodies were transferred to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital for a post mortem. The police named a 51-year-old man as a suspect and have placed him under arrest based on an anonymous tip. 

The Police were able to recover 25 sovereigns of gold, the return flight ticket of one of the victims, and their suitcase and cell phone. However, the police are yet to determine the reason for the murder and the weapons used for the murder.